Glass-melting furnaces of many types have been commonly employed to melt glass-forming materials in the manufacture of glass products, such as fiberglass, container glass, flat glass and other types of glass. Such a glass-melting furnace typically includes a charger to introduce glass batch, at least one burner to melt the glass batch into molten glass, and at least one exhaust stack to remove combustion gases from the furnace. In a cross-fired furnace, heat is introduced into the furnace from burners positioned on opposing sides of the furnace. The heat melts the glass, or batch, in the furnace. The glass batch is generally added to the furnace at the rear, or charging end of the furnace to allow for optimal melting of the glass batch to molten glass. The molten glass is removed from the front, or downstream end of the furnace, through a glass evacuation channel referred to as a throat in furnaces for melting glass for manufacturing fiberglass, and referred to as a waist in furnaces for melting glass for manufacturing flat glass.
The combustion fumes and gases released from the decomposition of the glass-forming raw materials are transferred or removed from the furnace through one or more exhaust stacks positioned on opposite sides near the rear or charging end of the furnace, that is, on the opposite end of the furnace from the throat or point of glass discharge from the furnace. The reason for positioning the exhaust stacks in the rear of the furnace is to conserve energy while still maintaining acceptable melting of the batch. By exhausting the gases from of the charge end of the furnace, there is the opportunity to recover significant amounts of the energy from all the exhaust gases generated in the furnace. However, positioning the exhaust stacks at the charge end of the furnace leads to batch being entrained in the gases of combustion, and thus fouling of the exhaust stacks or other equipment, and potentially increasing the particulate from the furnace exhaust system. It would thus be desirable to design a more efficient furnace that does not have the disadvantages of known furnaces.